A Smurfmas Carol
by Lac Lausanne
Summary: It's 'Smurfmas Eve' and the Smurfs are busy preparing for their busiest time of year. But Gargamel is determined to ruin it for them.
1. Chapter 1

A Smurfmas Carol

Chapter 1

The forest was a wonderful sparkling tapestry of white. Snow and frost coated each branch and they sparkled with an orange hue in the soft glow of the setting afternoon sun.

Deep in the forest the same sun glinted off a myriad of tiny little mushroom houses, all decorated for the season of joy and goodwill to all Smurfs.

Mid winter had been and gone. The soothsmurfs had been chased out of the village and everysmurf felt more relaxed now that the world had not ended. They could all get on with the important business of preparing for 'Smurfmas', one of the most important dates in the smurf year. The little blue people looked so happy and carefree. What could possibly spoil their fun?

On the edge of the forest, out of the shelter of the trees, the wind blew strong and froze everything living solid with its bitter, frigid breath. But even the North wind would not win a bitterness contest against the occupant of a little run down hovel that stood on a small rise above a lifeless pond.

"I hate Christmas Azrael, I hate it!" growled a hunched, black clad, middle aged man who was trying to warm his large knurled hands on a pathetic looking fire. He was also covered with a red blanket whilst his companion a large rough looking tom cat looked on with disgust at the dying fire.

"The woodsmen charge so much for seasoned wood and the twigs from the forest are just not enough. We need some proper logs but that will mean paying out money. Bah! I'll just put on another blanket if I have to.

He sat for a while deep in thought whilst his cat tried to get closer to the fire.

Most years his own mother would come over on Christmas day and they would share a badly cooked meal, but it was food even if a couple of years before they had suffered bad food poisoning from mummy's attempt at making a 'moist' Turkey dinner. He much preferred the dry, cremated offerings of unidentified fowls. At least they were cooked.

But this year his mummy was visiting friends abroad and he would have to spend the festive season alone with his cat. His mood darkened and he wondered what life would have been like if he had been married and had children. How different things would have been, he would have even enjoyed giving and receiving gifts. He would have been a husband and father.

But then a thought popped into his head.

"Of course I'm a father!" he shouted out, startling his cat who almost burnt his paws on the dying embers.

"Smurfette can join us this Christmas, I'm sure she'll enjoy our company and we could have so much fun!" Azrael looked at his master with a look of shock.

He gave an evil smile and rubbed his hands together when he realised something else,

"And best of all. I will get to ruin the little blue pests 'Smurfmas', what joy and sweet revenge that would be!" he cackled to himself and threw a few more twigs onto the measly excuse for a fire, before picking up a trap and heading out into the snow. His cat Azrael just curled up and pretended to be asleep, he knew it was all going to end in disaster and he was not going to have any part in it. He was very wise for a cat.

Back at the Smurf village, Baker Smurf was emptying the oven of mince pies and arranging them on cooling racks all around his bakery. He must have been at it all day, there were hundreds of them all ready for the big day, which was going to be tomorrow morning as today was Smurfmas eve.

It was already getting dark and a party of Smurfs were returning from foraging for holly berries and mistletoe. Smurfette had insisted in going along and as usual she was trailing behind all the others. Brainy Smurf noticed her dawdling and started to tell her off.

"Come on, Smurf up! You know what Papa says about being out so late, we must get back to the village straight away!" he shouted.

Smurfette just waved and smiled at him. It was all she needed to do to make him stop bugging her. She then caught sight of something red and shiny under a bush. Her curiosity was aroused, she could not help herself and had to go and look. It was a big mistake, she heard a clunking sound and found herself well and truly trapped. She heard a familiar laugh and saw Gargamel leering at her through the bars of the camouflaged trap.

"Let me go right now! Papa and the others are going to make you wish you were never born!" she screamed at him, but before she could utter another sound the evil wizard threw some dust over her cage and she fell fast asleep.

"That's the plan my dear! The more the merrier for Christmas at Gargamel's!"

Just before leaving the place where he captured Smurfette, he left a 'Smurfmas' card for her friends. It was Smurf sized and covered in pretty ribbons. Gargamel had actually made it look quite tasteful.

Once in the village the other Smurfs had a feeling that something was wrong. Brainy started to say that he had told Smurfette to hurry up but Papa cut him short and said that he should have stayed with her at all times.

It was properly dark now and they got together a search party to look for their lost female. They retraced their steps using flaming torches to light their way. In a little while Clumsy smurf came stumbling towards Papa, Brainy and Hefty who were standing in a group. He was holding an envelope in his hand.

"My word, what is this?" exclaimed Papa as he opened the decorated envelope. Inside was a card with a hand draw picture of a Christmas tree, not a very good drawing but it looked like a tree at least. Papa started to read.

_'My Dear Papa, that time of year is upon us once again and this year I've decided that I would like my daughter 'Smurfette' to stay at my hovel over the festive season. So that she does not feel too lonely I'm inviting you, Brainy Smurf and Hefty Smurf to join in the festivities. I'm sure the other Smurfs can manage without the four of you this year._

_If you try to organise a rescue party then I will make sure she will never see another 'Smurfmas' again. Only the three of you are to enter my hovel and you must come tonight before midnight or else._

_Best wishes, Gargamel '_

"How dare he!" said Hefty, he still had feelings for Smurfette and now that the evil wizard had captured his sweetheart he just wanted to go over there and punch his lights out. Brainy was trying to think as to why Gargamel would want to invite any other Smurfs. Papa knew why.

"He wants us to come along so that he can humiliate us and ruin our Smurfmas. There can be no other reason. We'd better do as he says and play along with him until we can find a way of rescuing her," replied Papa and the other nodded.

Papa sent the rest of the search party home with orders to stay in the village and not do anything until they got a signal from Papa. He was not sure what the signal would be but they would know once they saw it.

The three Smurfs then made their way through the dark, cold snowy woods towards the hovel of their arch enemy.

Gargamel was waiting by the window of his home and soon enough he saw the little bobbing lights of the Smurf's torches. He hurried to the door. It made a pleasant change to welcome Smurf guests. He always had to drag them through the door kicking and screaming in the past.

Papa and the others saw the evil wizard standing on the threshold and they stopped at a safe distance.

"Gargamel! This is not in the spirit of Smurfmas and you know it. Return Smurfette to us and we will be on our way. Keep her and you will be in a world of trouble!" shouted Papa.

Gargamel looked at the three little pests and suppressed the urge to retaliate with words. He stood to one side and gestured for them to enter.

"Come inside my little blue friends, its much warmer in here and I have some mulled juice heating up on the fire,"

It did not really make them feel at home, just heightened their nervousness at what this human was planning to do with them. They started to go over the threshold when Hefty put out his arms to hold the other two back.

"Wait a minute! Where is Azrael? We aren't taking another step if your flea bitten cat is waiting to pounce on us!" growled Hefty looking up at the giant before him.

"Don't worry about my cat, you're safe enough. He's locked away in the cellar with some food and water for now. Can't have him chasing and eating the guests," said Gargamel and flashed a toothless grin at the strong smurf.

Hefty shuddered inside, the wizard smiled at him, that must mean trouble!

Once inside they looked around furtively for Smurfette. Cages were hanging from the rafters as always but every single one was empty. The shelves only contained bottles and boxes of potions and herbs and the table was bare apart from a few Smurfmas crackers. It was then that they noticed the tree in the corner of the kitchen. It was a nice looking tree with red candles set in black candle holders, the wax dripped along the pine needles and onto the flagstone floor looking like blood. Their eyes travelled up the tree and that was when they spotted her.

Smurfette was the angel atop the Smurfmas tree!

She was tied to the top of the tree. She seemed oblivious to her plight as she was sleeping soundly but her eyes were fixed wide open.

"What have you done to her Gargamel! I demand that you get her down from there this instant!" bellowed Papa smurf, his little blue face going purple with rage. Hefty smurf was cracking his knuckles and Brainy Smurf kept adjusting his glasses as that's what he did when he was angry. They climbed onto the table.

The human just laughed at them

"Mwa,ha,ha! Not so fast little ones. First you must win her back. Don't try anything foolish or the tree will tear her apart limb from limb!" sneered Gargamel. And to emphasise his threat he took a wand from his sleeve and pointed it at the tree. It glowed green and started to move. Each branch became a limb and the ends of the branches turned into fingers. They started to take hold of the unconscious Smurfette.

"OK, ok! What do you want us to do Gargamel? How can we win her freedom?" asked Papa, feeling weary at having to humour the deranged human.

"Just spend some time with me, pull some crackers, have a drink and make merry. I'm all alone this holiday season and you are my closest neighbours. Well apart from Big Mouth and I don't have enough food for him. At least you Smurfs don't eat or drink much," said Gargamel sitting down at the table they were standing on.

"Why kidnap Smurfette? Was it to ensure that we would follow?" quizzed Papa.

"Well, do you seriously think that you would have come along unless I provided a reason for you to be here?" said Gargamel raising an eyebrow.

"Anyhow, she is the only other family I have apart from Mummy. Her friends abroad did not want me to come along so I'm feeling a bit angry, I suppose and what better way to deal with my disappointment, than by making your little blue lives as miserable as mine?"

The three Smurfs just glared at him. They would have to be careful and do everything that the evil wizard said or they would not live to see another Smurfmas.

"Come, lets pull some crackers and start the festivities," said Gargamel in a mock cheery voice. "I'll make a deal with you, if you three manage to win two crackers out of three, I'll let Smurfette down from the tree at least, what do you say to that?"

The three friends nodded and they moved towards the crackers laid out on the table. Gargamel held onto one end then Papa, Brainy and Hefty held onto each other and pulled the other end. It was hard work pulling a cracker and Hefty was doing most of the work. All the time they were pulling Gargamel just leered at them and Papa glared at the human.

All of a sudden all three of them went tumbling across the table and they were left holding the bigger portion of the cracker.

Inside there were three little Smurf sized party hats, some party poopers and some Smurfeberries.

Brainy thought that at least they had some food now. Pulling one cracker was hard enough, now they had two more to get through.

"One to the Smurfs," shouted Hefty

They grabbed the next cracker and pulled with all their might. Again they all fell over but this time Gargamel had the larger part and it contained a human sized Santa Claus hat except that it was black with white trim and the words 'Bah Humbug' written on the headband. There was also a party pooper and a mince pie.

"One to me, " gloated the wizard as he bit into the pie as he pulled the hat onto his bald head. "You'd better put your party hats on, this is going to get interesting.

"We don't feel like wearing your stupid hats," shouted Hefty smurf. Gargamel just shrugged his shoulders "As you wish, but it just proves that you don't know how to have fun!"

This annoyed Papa and he retorted " We have fun by being kind and generous and not making fun of others at their expense!"

"Even you would say that I'm being kind. I've not put you in a cage, you are free to leave at any time, just without Smurfette. I even had to do something as unpleasant as collecting Smurfberries. They always bring me out in a rash!"

Papa just shook his head and said "Gargamel I sometimes wonder if you will ever know the true meaning of Smufmas. I feel sorry for you sometimes. I truly do, but you are not endearing yourself to us in the slightest!"

"Let's carry on and pull the last cracker shall we?" said Gargamel with a sarcastic smile.

The human and the Smurfs pulled the last cracker and this time the Smurfs had the biggest end.

"Two to one for the Smurfs! We win! You're a failure as always, now let Smurfette go and we will be out of your miserable shack!" shouted Hefty jumping for joy around the table giving Papa and Brainy smurf hugs.

The evil wizard just watched them, his eyes glinting a little. He waited a while until the Smurfs stopped celebrating and he had their full attention.

"Papa, have you not noticed something about Smurfette?" jeered the wizard.

The Smurfs ran to the other side of the table and they could see that she was still asleep, but she seemed to have shiny skin. Hefty was the first to start climbing the tree. He scaled it as quick as lightning and once at the top he could get a good look at her. She was hard to the touch. Hefty was horrified to realise that she was made of painted wax! He shook her, trying to make her wake up but although he could see she was breathing, he could not feel any warmth from her.

He screamed down at the human.

"In Smurfs name! What have you done to her Gargamel?"

"Just a fiendishly complicated spell to turn her into a wax doll, if you look carefully there is a wick at the top of her hat. She would make an excellent candle don't you think? She would light up the night and maybe even 'warm' her attitude to me. I'm quite proud of myself!"

That was the last straw for Hefty, he could not help himself and he launched at Gargamel from the top of the tree and landed inside the evil wizard's cassock collar.

The strong Smurf took out his little knife that he carried in his pants and started to slash at the human's bare back. Gargamel cried out in pain but could not reach the Smurf with his hands. Brainy and Papa were egging Hefty on, it seemed that they were going to escape, until the evil wizard started to slam his body against the wall and this mean that Hefty was knocked out. He tumbled out of the bottom of the black tattered cassock.

The little Smurf was out cold on the floor and covered in the human's blood.

"Right, that does it! You just can't play nicely can you? You little blue devils!"

Gargamel picked up the unconscious Hefty and dangled him between his index finger and thumb. For a moment the other two Smurfs thought that their friend would get thrown into the fire but the wizard took out his wand and waved it at the empty third cracker.

"I was going to have a party and be nice, but no, you had to go and spoil it all! Now you will stay here forever!"

The empty cracker suddenly exploded with a shower of sparks and smoke and a smurf cage stood in its place. Gargamel moved towards the cage, opened it and threw Hefty inside. Brainy and Papa were running across the floor of the hovel. The evil wizard pointed his wand at the fleeing Smurfs and they were caught up in a magic silver thread that tied them up and put them in the cage as well.

Wincing in pain, Gargamel lifted up the cage containing the three captured Smurfs and chillingly told them.

"Did you know that when Smurfs are turned into wax candles and a flame is lit, they will feel every little thing. Just think about it. That will be the fate of your precious Smurfette if you try to escape!"

He started to laugh "Mwa,ha,ha! And if you don't behave you will ALL become wax candles to adorn my dinner table! Mwa,ha,ha!" he cackled and then took off his cassock to examine his wounds.

Hefty had done a good job. The wizard would be in great pain. That satisfied Papa for now. But he would have to think fast or all would be lost!

**To be continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

A Smurfmas Carol

Chapter 2

Gargamel was feeling sorry for himself and decided to put some precious logs onto the fire. Soon enough a blazing fire lit up the dingy interior of the hovel. The injured wizard had taken off his cassock and sat in front of the fire with his back to the caged Smurfs. He was trying to reach the cuts but could not quite manage it.

Hefty had come round not long after their incarceration in the cage and he felt some pride now, in having been able to make his 'mark' on the evil human. The silver threads that had bound them had melted away.

Papa gathered the two other Smurfs together and whispered in their ears.

"Listen my fellow Smurfs. I came prepared just in case Gargamel turned nasty. Just before leaving the village I brewed up a powerful halugenetic potion that can be used to make him feel quite ill so confining him to his bed. He will then go on a journey through his psyche. In other words he will have such a bad nightmare that he will be nice to us, at least over the Smurfmas period,"

"But how are you going to get him to take the potion? He won't drink it and he's sure to make us take it if he finds out what we are up to," murmured Hefty looking worried.

"This potion has to be administered through the bloodstream, but don't worry it has no effect on Smurfs but I'm not going to let him find that out. I'm going to try and trick him into letting me treat his wounds. If it fails then I only have one other option left and I hope to smurf that it works fast!"

Papa went to the side of the cage closest to Gargamel and he could see that whilst they had been talking the human had got hold of two mirrors and was trying to line them up so he could see his back and apply a healing balm.

"Gargamel, I could help you apply the balm if you let me out. I won't run away whilst my family members are still your prisoners." Shouted Papa

Gargamel was growing frustrated and he knew that he would need some help but he was stubborn and shouted back.

"Ha! Why would I let any of you near me? I've got a good mind to roast Hefty slowly over the fire for all the trouble he has caused me! But then making him melt like a candle by the heat of a flame sounds much more appealing. Wait a minute and I'll get my spell book. Got to practice this spell so that I can turn more of you into candles until you are needed to make gold! Mwa,ha,ha,ha!"

Gargamel got up and went to the shelf just behind the Christmas tree. Papa thinking fast, got the potion bottle out of his hat and held it in his hand for the evil wizard to see.

As the human came up to the cage he saw that the red clad Smurf leader was holding a potion bottle and this made Gargamel angry.

"What have you got there Papa? Hand it over this instant!"

"I'm afraid not Gargamel, you see we are going to make sure that you can't hurt any of us anymore. This is a deadly poison and we are all going to take it. You can't make gold with dead Smurfs"

Gargamel genuinely looked shocked for a moment. This was not Smurfy talk. It had to be a trick of some kind but what? He hesitated then grabbed the cage when he saw Papa take a swig of the contents of the bottle. He had his face inches away from the bars, eyes wide open in incomprehension and then Papa spat right in Gargamel's eye!

There, the potion had hit the spot and soon enough it began to course through the evil wizard's bloodstream. He collapsed onto the floor clutching at his right eye.

"Aaargh! It stings, what have you done you nasty creature? You've blinded me!" screeched the human.

"No, you've not been physically harmed, not by the potion but you'd better get yourself to bed Gargamel. You're going on a trip of a lifetime!"

Somehow, the evil wizard had managed to drag himself to bed and climbed under the bed sheets. He felt as if he had, had a bit too much to drink and the whole room was spinning. He vowed that once he felt well enough he would make every single Smurf pay dearly for their attack on him, but his threats went unheard, soon replaced by deep snoring.

The caged Smurfs now knew that the time was right for them to make their escape. The cat was still locked up in the basement and they were grateful for small mercies. Hefty Smurf tested the bars of the cage but found that they would bend a little but not enough for him to squeeze through.

All three of them thought for a moment and they decided that one of them should squeeze out whilst the others bent the bars.

Together, Papa and Hefty pulled the bars apart and this allowed Brainy Smurf to squeeze through to the other side.

"Great, now try and find the key. I think I saw Gargamel hang it up by the fireplace," said Papa. Sure enough, there was the key glinting in the firelight.

With a couple of jumps Brainy got hold of the key and came back to the cage.

"We'd better hurry!" said Papa "The potion will only incapacitate him for an hour at the most and I must study that spell book to return Smurfette back to normal," In a few seconds the Smurfs were free and they climbed the tree to rescue their waxen Smurfette.

Meanwhile, Gargamel was deep in the land of dreams, but to him it seemed real. He was in the woods where everything was covered in thick fog. The trees were ghostly shapes which shifted as he passed. The net he was holding felt strangely light but it was solid as his hands could feel it and he could see it.

The path ahead was obscured by billowing fog but out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of greyish blue. His net came down and bringing it up to his face he saw that he had captured an ill looking Smurf.

It's skin was very pale blue, it had a dirty long beard and it's clothes were light grey as if they had not been washed for months or even years.

But the most shocking thing of all was that this Smurf wore chains and shackles and every movement it made caused the heavy looking chains to grate and clank.

"What's happened to you Smurf? Those aren't my chains. Who else tried to capture you?" Gargamel was angry that someone else was moving into his territory and trying to capture HIS Smurfs!

The little blue creature looked up at the human and with glassy eyes it spoke with a voice far too loud for its small frame. There even seemed to be an echo to it.

"No-one has captured me, Gargamel. I have done this to myself. I'm known as 'Never be Missed Smurf'. I'm an outcast from the village. Have been living by myself for over four hundred years!"

"Good grief! What did you do to deserve such a fate?" asked Gargamel, who by now was feeling a little repulsed by this pathetic excuse for a Smurf.

"I was like you, Gargamel!" said the grey Smurf, pointing a skinny little index finger at the human. " I wanted gold, lots of it and it drove me mad. I lived in a cave above the river and would not let anyone come near it. I was the owner of the biggest gold nugget in all the forest. Gradually I lost all contact with my friends and family and could only think of gold. I became so jealous and paranoid that I hurt another Smurf very badly and they never forgave me for it.

The other Smurfs made me an outcast and forbade me from coming to the village. But it did not matter to me at the time, as I had my gold. But then the men came to the cave in their own search for the yellow metal and I fought them with all my strength, but they found my reason for living and took it away.

Now I had nothing, but still the other Smurfs would not let me back into the village. I pleaded with them all, but they seemed oblivious to me. I truly was 'Never be missed' Smurf."

Gargamel lifted the net a little higher to get a good look at this strange Smurf who was even more full of avarice than he was, and he fell over in shock when the Smurf stuck its head straight through the net as if it was not there.

"You see Gargamel. I did not realise that I had perished in the fight over my gold nugget. It took me many years to even realise that I was dead but still I cannot move on due to my love of gold!

Beware, wizard for this fate will befall you as well if you do not repent your lust for gold and your quest to capture Smurfs. You still have a spark of humanity in your heart. Repent! before it's too late and you die for good inside. This very night you will be visited by three spirits. Heed their words or be forever doomed!"

By now Gargamel was hiding behind a tree. He had dropped the net on the floor in shock and was trying to stop his knees from knocking together. As he watched, the grey Smurf became bigger and bigger and moved towards the terrified human. Gargamel wanted to run but fainted on the spot instead.

The giant ghostly Smurf looked down at them spread eagled wizard, said "Oh for Smurf sake!" and disappeared into the fog.

Gargamel was out cold and the fog continued to lap over him. He opened his eyes and for a moment thought that he was blind as he could not even see his hands in front of his face, such was the thickness of the fog.

He started to get to his feet and brushed all the mud and leaves off his clothes, muttering to himself that he would have to wash his cassock for the second time that month. He lifted his head up to try and get his bearings when he saw a faint yellow glow coming towards him through the fog shrouded trees.

It was about three feet off the ground and he shouted out, thinking that it was another person. At last he had some company and they might know the way out of this cursed forest.

The glow came closer and closer, but still there was no discernable shape of a person.

Then the light went out.

He had been staring at the glow for so long that he had not noticed that it was not just foggy it was dark as well. Feeling a little panicked he held onto his net a little tighter, fearing an attack at any moment.

He let out a shriek of fright when a three foot high Smurf suddenly appeared in front of him with it's hat alight as if it was a candle. 

**To be continued...**


	3. Chapter 3

**'A Smurfmas Carol'**

**Chapter 3**

**Sorry for the delay in updating, but I've not had access to a Word Processor for ages. I refer to 'Krindle' in this story. You need to read 'The Penultimate Solution' to see how he fits in. Please note that this chapter has several distressing scenes and may not be suitable for younger readers.**

The Smurfs in the hovel had worked fast to free their Smurfette. Due to the fact that she was immobile due to her waxen state, they had been afraid of dropping her, lest she fall to the ground and break into a thousand pieces.

Brainy for once had a good idea and procured one of Gargamel's smaller nets. They carefully placed her inside, making sure that the net itself was tightly tied to a long rope. Then Hefty and Brainy lowered her down from the top of the Christmas tree whilst Papa guided them from below.

The animation spell had been broken and the tree did not try to attack them, but they now had Gargamel's wand and as long as they had it, the little blue beings had the upper hand.

Papa was worrying that they were going to run out of time. Getting Smurfette off the tree was taking too long and he still had to try and reverse the spell. But he would still need the evil wizard's help, as only he could unlock Smurfette out of her waxen state. From the other room the Smurfs could hear the evil wizard grunting and muttering in his induced sleep.

_'In Gargamel's dream world... _

"Who, who, are you?" stuttered Gargamel, rubbing his eyes at the sight before him. The three foot Smurf had a kindly face, almost as if it was someone he knew from a long time ago.

"I'm the Smurf of Smurfmas past" replied the blue being

"I'm here to help you remember the things that were once lost to you over the years. You have been in a very dark place for so long that you have forgotten yourself," said the smurf in a gentle dreamy voice.

"I'm the way I am today because I chose to be! Circumstances cannot change a man that much!" spat back Gargamel. He hated being patronised and especially not by a Smurf!

The forest was still dark and the only light came from the Smurf's burning hat.

"Can't you put that flame out? And use a lantern like a normal...Smurf?" asked Gargamel.

"I am a product of your imagination, only you can change the way things progress from now on. But first we must go on a journey to your past. Some memories need to be re-awoken and it will not be pleasant I'm afraid."

Before the wizard could even complain, the Smurf had grabbed his hand and dragged him to the base of an old oak tree where a large rabbit hole opened up. The Smurf shoved him down it and then jumped onto his back. Gargamel screamed all the way down the hole with a Smurf riding on his back as if he was a bucking bronco.

During his helter skelter dive down the rabbit hole, he kept his eyes shut but could feel a cold wind battering his face. What did the Smurf mean about it being his imagination? All of this felt far too real and every now and again a root would whack him on the nose and make him see stars.

He then landed into a pool of freezing water and the Smurf jumped off his mount and onto a grassy bank.

"Help!, help! I can't swim!" spluttered the evil wizard, but all his struggling meant that he had managed to get to the bank without even trying. He hauled himself out of the water and lay panting on the grass. Although the water had been cold when he first landed head first into it, now it felt warm and the sun was high in the sky, warming his wet clothes.

The Smurf of Smurfmas past pointed further along the bank to a woman and child, both with dark hair who were splashing in the shallows of the pool. They seemed to be very happy and the young boy could have not been much older than three years old.

"Smurf, how come they did not notice the commotion I made?" asked Gargamel, trying to see who the woman and child were.

The Smurf of Smurfmas past explained that what he was seeing were echoes of the past and that he could not interact with them, only observe. The wizard took a sharp intake of breath.

"It can't be! It's my mummy, Celestyn! But is that really me?"

He watched the family scene play out in front of him, his mother was trying to teach him to swim but he would get frightened as soon as he could not touch the bottom. Each time his mother would gently encourage him but at the same time gave him a loving hug when he got upset.

The Smurf noticed that the human was looking sad.

"Why are you so sad? asked the Smurf

"I don't really know, maybe it's because this was the last time I felt true unconditional love? When it was just mummy and I, our world was perfect in every way, but of course that all changed when Krindle my step dad came into our lives. But that's another story"

The Smurf with the burning hat merely nodded and took hold of Gargamel's hand, and once again he felt himself being dragged along, but this time they did not go down a rabbit hole, they were flying high above the forest. At first he was worried about falling but this was soon replaced by a feeling of exhilaration.

"I've always wanted to fly like a bird! This is great!" shouted Gargamel as they sped through the blue yonder.

As they sped along, he could not help trying to look out for the Smurf village, but he soon started to recognise some buildings below and one in particular.

His old wizard school.

They landed in one of the classrooms just as some students were leaving the room. They filed out one by one and wished the teacher a merry Christmas, they were all exited as it was the last day of school and the start of the holidays. They were looking forward to receiving presents and being with friends and family.

Gargamel knew that the people he was seeing were from the past and that they could not see or hear him, but he could not help shouting out their names as they passed by.

"Hey! there's Wolfglove the wilful! He's one of my best friends at school!" laughed the wizard, moving forward but of course he went right through the apparition. He looked back at his departing friend, crestfallen.

"He was one of my best friends," repeated the human, correcting himself.

But not everyone had left the room, one solitary child was left sitting at his desk. He looked to be around fourteen years old and he had his head buried in his arms on his desk, his back gently shook.

"Gargamel!" shouted the teacher. He was impatient to get his things together and lock up the school. The young boy looked up from tear sodden desk and tried to focus on the teacher with red rimmed eyes.

"Can't I just stay here, Sir? Don't send me home, I can't stand it any longer"

The teacher sighed and walked over to be unhappy child.

"Sorry, Gargamel, but you can't stay here, what about your mother, she'll be worried about you," replied the teacher, sitting on his haunches so that he was at the same level as his pupil.

"But Sir, Christmas is just another day. My step dad hates it. He refuses to allow it in the house and he won't even let us have any extra food. I miss the Christmases I used to have when I was much younger. It's been so long since I got to enjoy it. I'm afraid that I will end up hating it as much as him,"

"Poor lad, I can't really tell your step dad what to do and to be honest I and others are scared of him. You are a very brave lad. You've managed to stay under his roof looking after your sister and mother. Just remember. They are your true family and always will be. That's what Christmas is about. Now off with you. And make sure you eat this before you get home,"

The teacher handed Gargamel a mince pie. The young boy looked up at his teacher and smiled for the first time that day.

The Smurf of Smurfmas past turned to the present version of Gargamel and looked up at the human who was trying his best not to be upset by the visions in front of him.

"You loved that teacher didn't you?"

"Yes, yes I did. He always made me see that there could be a light at the end of the tunnel, however dark it became." sniffed Gargamel.

"Well, hold onto that feeling as I must leave you soon and you will be visited by the Smurf of Smurfmas present. I truly hope that you will find your heart soon.

"What do you mean you are leaving?" But before he could say anything else the three foot Smurf had magically opened up a hole in the floor and the human plummeted straight down for what seemed like many minutes. He landed heavily. All the wind was knocked out of him making him instinctively curl up in a ball, trying to refill his lungs with air.

He had ended up in a woodland clearing. It was a bright sunny day, snow lay deep on the ground and this is what broke his fall from the heavens. He lay there for a minute or two staring up at the bare branches of the dormant trees and only moved when he was certain that nothing was broken and then he wondered why he was not feeling the cold.

Of course, it was all in his imagination. He started to think about waking up, he pinched himself, slapped himself, stuck some snow down the front of his cassock, but no. He felt all of it, but he was still in the clearing in the middle of the woods.

"Strange that I have sensation in this dream world but it seems selective" he thought to himself.

Then he heard it. That singing! Smurf singing!

He started to move towards the source of the sound and a few steps away he found what he had always wished for. The Smurf village!

He marched straight into the middle of the village square, but none of the Smurfs were running away in panic. What was wrong with them? Then he remembered, he was invisible to them. Just as an experiment he tried to kick a Smurf, missed and fell over onto one of the mushroom houses. He then had the surreal effect of having his head inside a Smurf house and being able to see the inside. He was effectively a ghost.

He pushed himself up with his arms and came up through the mushroom, passing through it's loft and then out into the sunshine again. He then lowered himself back down and as before he saw all the different layers inside the house.

"My, my, my, this is fun!" he chuckled to himself. " Wonder where Smurfette's house is?" He had just started to push himself back up again out of the ethereal skin of the building when a giant blue four fingered hand grabbed the front of his cassock and pulled him high into the air.

Gargamel was so terrified that he kept his eyes closed tightly but then a giant's voice boomed at him, hurting his ears. He could feel the spit coming from the mouth of the giant and smell it's breath. The stink of Smurfberries made him want to heave!

"Gargamel! Welcome to our village, you're just in time for Smurfmas!"

Now the misanthrope, thought he recognised the voice and he just had to look. He gasped in shock when he saw the giant bearded face of Papa Smurf, filling his field of vision.

"Look at how the Smurfs enjoy this festive time!" boomed Papa Smurf.

And below him, Gargamel could see that all the mushroom houses were garishly decorated in myriads of different colours, bits of greenery had been placed on doors and window sills and coloured baubles hung around the eaves, some with lighted candles within them. Smurfs were walking around with brightly coloured scarves around their necks and several were carrying big armfuls of gifts. Every single one of them was smiling and singing.

"How come I didn't notice the decorations when I first came to the village?" said Gargamel. How did he miss such tackiness?

The giant Papa, just laughed and gently lowered the wizard back down onto the ground. The human was only as tall as the Smurf's knee.

"Your heart is closed and you only chose to see what you wanted to see. Much harder to ignore your sense of hearing. I think it's time for introductions;

I'm the spirit of Smurfmas present and I'm here to make you see how important this holiday season is to us and why you should let it back into your life before it is too late,"

"Pah! Smurfmas or Christmas! They mean nothing to me! I've never celebrated it myself. Waste of time, money and energy! In fact all merriment is a waste of time. Got much better things to be getting on with, such as capturing Smurfs! One day I will get you all mark my words, Papa!"

Gargamel started to walk away from the blue giant. He had enough of this dream and if this was not the real Smurf village then he didn't want anything more to do with it.

But on his way out he could not resist having a peek in one of the houses and he stuck his head in a yellow roofed house. At least in this dream world he did not have to waste energy smashing his way in.

With his head in the mushroom he could see that it belonged to Painter Smurf. The very same was working on a canvas and seemed to be painting a portrait of Azrael.

Just then Hefty Smurf opened the door of Painter's house and came in.

"Hey Painter, have you finished the paintings we asked you to make?"

"Bientot, bientot, You can take ze painting of that horrid wizard now if you want! I don't like him in my house!" said Painter, pointing to a canvas that had been placed on the floor facing the wall.

Hefty picked it up and turned it over, it was a full length portrait of Gargamel.

"Oh my Smurf! You've made him look even uglier! This is smurfy! We are going to have so much fun tonight at the Smurfmas party darts game. I'll add on the dividing lines at my house. Where do you think the high smurf should be?" giggled Hefty.

"Why ask? On hiz big hooter of course!" replied Painter with a smirk.

They both laughed and then Hefty walked out with the canvas, passing through the invisible Gargamel who was crouched down outside the house, watching everything. Enraged, the human pulled his head out of the Smurf house and came face to knee with the giant again.

"Don't you know it's rude to do that, even in a dream world? chided the Smurf.

"Get lost! I'm not talking to you! I want out of this dream NOW! You little monsters must have poisoned me somehow. You are all the same! And you wonder why I hate you all so much!" growled the wizard who was turning a bright shade of red and bulging veins on his temples were becoming prominent.

The giant suddenly looked angry and had a nasty glint in his eye.

"This is all of your own doing, why should we like you? Or even care about you? Maybe I should just crush you between my hands right now? That will solve all our problems. We would have a very good Smurfmas indeed. No more Gargamel, gone forever. Now that would be a great gift for the Smurfs don't you think? "

Gargamel started to run at this point, unsure if he could be killed in a dream but if they had poisoned him, how would he know if his real body was being consumed by something terrible?

He did not even get out of the village. He now found himself once again, half in and half out of another mushroom. In his blind panic he had run straight through several homes and had been picked up once again by giant Papa and placed inside a Smurfling's house. But this time upside down inches from the floor so he was seeing an inverted world.

"Maybe the extra blood flow to your brain, however puny it is, might make you listen properly," said the giant.

Gargamel tried to right himself, he tried to kick but both his legs were being held in a vice like grip. He just did not have the strength to fight anymore.

If only he had his wand, he would make them pay!

Resigned to being made to stay there, he started to listen properly, but only because he had no choice in the matter.

He was in a living room of some sort and it was empty. He could hear some crying coming from the bedroom to one side. Two Smurflings then emerged from the other room and then sat on the sofa just opposite Gargamel's face.

One of them was dressed in pink dungarees and had red pigtails poking out from under her hat, the other Smurfling had a droopy hat and red t-shirt. He had a general look of not being bothered with his appearance and yawned every few minutes.

"Oh, Slouchy, why are they being so unkind to Pappy Gargamel? I just heard that Jokey has been to the hovel and let off another one of his surprises. He kept smurfing on and on about his latest batch of super strong smurfing powder and how Gargamel's hair had caught alight! I do hope he's OK" sniffed the red haired Smurfling.

"I don't see why you smurf him Sassette. We all know that he Smurfs Smurfmas even more than Grouchy Smurf. He can stay in his hovel alone. No-one wants to spend time with him. Even his own mother does not visit," yawned Slouchy.

"That's true Slouchy. I saw his mummy a few days ago getting ready to leave, she was smurfing into a carriage to take her to her friends. She had another lady with her and they kept saying horrid things about him and that he was just like her ex-husband, not liking Smurfmas.

Gargamel's heart gave a twinge at hearing this. Slouchy in the meantime moved closer to Sassette, shifting himself along the sofa. He spoke softly.

"But that's just so sad and no-one should be alone at Smurfmas time. I even made him some cookies, but he's sure to smurf that something is up and won't accept them. Why does Jokey have to smurf it all?"

Sassette started to cry again and her smurfling friend gave her a hug.

Gargamel had enough of being upside down, he was getting a massive headache from the smurfling crying and the fact that his face was now bright red.

"Let me up you imbecile! Are you trying to kill me?" spluttered the angry wizard.

He felt himself being pulled back out of the house very quickly and then dropped hard onto the ground. He just lay there face down for a couple of minutes waiting for the horrible dizzy sensation to pass and for his ears to stop amplifying the sound of his own heartbeat.

He turned himself over to look straight up at the giant Papa and was shocked to see that the Smurf was looking quite ill, his skin was several shades lighter and very wrinkled, the neatly trimmed beard was ragged and hung down to his chest.

"What's happened to you?" squeaked the shocked human

"My time is almost over, Smurfmas lasts for such a short time but its teachings and joy should last the whole year round. Beware Gargamel! if you do not change your ways then your fate will be sealed. You will have made even a peaceful people such as the Smurfs a very dangerous force that will wreak havoc in the human world.

And to emphasize his point two normal sized Smurfs came out from behind Papa's ankles. One was crazy looking and had weapons of all sorts strapped to his little blue frame. They weren't innocent looking weapons either, lots of sharp knives, swords and arrows.

This Smurf suddenly let out a war cry and ran towards the prone Gargamel who put up his hands for protection.

Papa caught the enraged Smurf just inches away from the cowering wizard and put it in his beard from where it continued to scream and curse at the confused human lying on the ground.

"This Smurf represents 'Fear', he is one of many who never recovered from the loss of their leader. One Smurfmas Papa, Brainy and Hefty went to rescue Smurfette from you, but they never returned. Everything you have just seen was just before they realised that Smurfette was missing. It seems that you had finally won, but at what cost to you and to the Smurfs?"

Just then a different Smurf came out from behind Papa's ankle. This one was grey in colour and half of it's body seemed to have been chewed off. It's eyes were all white and it moved quickly round to the front of Papa's foot and sunk it's teeth into the giant's toe. But he did not seem to notice.

Gargamel looked at the grey Smurf chewing Papa's big toe and had to rub his eyes as this dream was getting out of hand.

"Ermm, Papa, don't you feel that?" questioned the human.

"This Smurf represents 'Loathing'. Some Smurfs became zombies as they were so horrified at the loss of their 'joy de vivre' they became dead from the inside out. Grey was the only colour they could see. Brainy Smurf tried to help them, but without Papa his potions rendered them immortal. They tried to hurt themselves but never healed." He then answered the question.

"What I feel is not important. How do you feel, seeing the Smurfs reduced to savages and zombies? All the happiness gone out of their lives and their society destroyed. Isn't it all you ever wanted? Are you now satisfied?"

Gargamel looked again at the cursing Smurf in the beard that was shooting arrows at him but although they were hitting him they were not hurting, then he looked at the Smurf feasting on the remains of the big toe.

He then noticed that the grey zombie Smurf had red pigtails and the remains of pink dungarees and the crazy Smurf had a red T-shirt around it's head.

His eyes started to prick and he rubbed them. Curses! He was crying but he did not know why. The more he tried to stop the flow of tears the worse it got and he had to sniff hard.

But still he was not sorry, he was glad that the Smurfs were no more.

But the giant Papa Smurf smiled. There was still hope for the evil human.

**To be continued...**


	4. Chapter 4

**A Smurfmas Carol**

**Chapter 4**

Back in the real world, Papa Smurf, Brainy and Hefty had carried the immobilised Smurfette into Gargamel's bedroom. Papa had a feeling that Smurfette might still be able to see and hear but he was not sure. They had placed her on his dressing table so that once he woke up, she would be the first thing he saw.

The three Smurfs then climbed the wizard's bed sheets and onto his chest. Gargamel was not tossing and turning as much as before and he was breathing shallowly. A thin sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead and his features were relaxed with parted lips allowing his buck teeth to show themselves. Hefty gave a shudder. He was so used to seeing this human leering at him, that the lack of expression on the big ugly pasty face made him uneasy.

"I have to monitor him now" said Papa Smurf

"He will be coming out of his dream world soon and it will be quite traumatic for him. The potion he ingested causes the dreamer to feel as if they are dying and if we are not careful his mind might convince his body that it is in fact dead. Then we will never be able to restore Smurfette"

Brainy spoke up

"Why did you use such a dangerous potion? He'll be no good to us dead!"

"It's the only way. He truly has to fear for his life and be able to repent with all of his heart and soul. The ultimate sacrifice in his eyes. I just hope that he is strong enough to pull through." said Papa. Looking at the prone human lying helpless in his bed.

_Back in the dream world;_

Gargamel was in the dark. He could not see a thing. The giant Papa Smurf and the two grotesque Smurfs had gone in a flash of light. He thought at first, that he had been blinded, but there was nothing here. Just himself in an empty void. He tried to shout out, but the blackness absorbed the sound, he tried to move but the gloom seemed to press in on him. He felt very scared.

Giant Papa had said something just before he vanished but Gargamel had been too arrogant to listen to him. Now he wished that he had. The feelings of being scared were building up inside him, threatening to make him scream in terror.

Something else was with him in the dark. He could feel it's presence, pricking at the back of his mind. A thing that he had tried to forget, push out of his mind, ignore even. But it was always there as a reminder of the ultimate fate of every living thing in the universe. It only had one name.

Death

As soon as that thought invaded his mind, the cloaked figure of the reaper grew up from the ground in front of him like a grotesque flower. It's petals were black and ragged, it's perfume was the stench of a thousand open graves.

Although he could not see the face in the gloom of it's hood, he could feel the penetrating gaze of billions of extinguished lives boring deep into his soul.

Gargamel felt very ill all of a sudden and had to be sick. Right onto the skeleton feet of the Reaper. The latter was not happy with him.

A skeletal hand reached out. It was about three times the size of a normal human's hand and for a moment Gargamel imagined that an Ogre was grabbing him, well for a skeletal figure it was strangely plump, almost familiar.

Too late, he was in a choke hold and was being dragged remorselessly towards the hooded figure. He tried to close his eyes, but at the same time he had to try and peer into the gloom and void of the hood.

And then he saw who Death was and he let out a strangled laugh.

_Back in Gargamel's bedroom;_

Papa Smurf looked concerned and the other smurfs with him were confused as to what to do to help their leader. The sleeping human was laughing in his sleep, so much so that he seemed to be choking. Papa frantically looked around and pointed to a pitcher of water on the table opposite the bed.

"Quick bring me some water in a cup or whatever you can find"

Hefty Smurf, leapt off the bed and ran to the table, in a couple of bounds he bounced off the floor onto a chair and onto the table. Filled up a cup from the pitcher and carefully brought it to Papa on the bed.

Papa took at deep gulp of water and then threw the rest into the wizard's face.

The effect was instantaneous. Gargamel stopped laughing and was once again sleeping peacefully.

"What was that all about?" asked Brainy removing his hat and scratching his head.

"I was saving his life, once again" said Papa Smurf and it had been a close call this time.

_In Gargamel's dream;_

The hilarity of what he had seen soon left him when 'Death' had started to shout at him, covering him in a layer of fine spittle. How he hated this person who had made his life a misery over the years, who had stolen all of his food and destroyed his house several times and who even now dared to hold him in a choke hold!

Gargamel fought back at his attacker and bit the skeletal hand. Falling to the ground in a heap he remained defiant. In fact he was incandescent with rage.

"How dare you grab me like that! I'll make you very sorry Big Mouth!"

The hooded figure pulled back his black head covering and it was indeed Big Mouth the Ogre but he was in a bad state. He looked like a zombie. His hands were just bones, part of his head was missing. Only one eye now stared into the evil wizard's soul and Big Mouth's corpse (which is what it was) pointed an accusing finger at Gargamel.

"You...**rasp**...did...this **rasp** to...**rasp** ME!"

Gargamel started to protest his innocence but soon stopped when the darkness around the pair dissolved and they found themselves in the Ogre's flimsy shack of a home. All the cupboards were bare and an old looking Big Mouth was sitting at the table looking frail and dejected.

There was a knock at the door and the older Ogre seemed to be afraid.

The knocking became louder and louder, he could not ignore it anymore and got up to let the visitor in.

There on the threshold stood a white bearded man with a cruel crooked nose and skin wrinkled and thin as parchment. He wore clothes made of fine silks, lots of purple and red. Upon his totally bald head rested a magnificent wizard's hat with golden stars and moons embroidered into it. In his claw like right hand, he carried a staff made out of pure silver with a golden dragon entwined around the top.

The Ogre was now on his hands and knees slowly backing away from his visitor. The wizard smiled evilly.

"Good dog Big Mouth, you know how to please your master Gargamel the great and powerful!"

The sneering wizard advanced into the shack and the shaking Ogre backed himself into a corner near the empty hearth.

"Well, well I see that you have been trying to find some food in the forest," said the future Gargamel picking up some rotten looking fruit and measly looking roots, that were strewn over the table. The Ogre had been trying to make himself a broth by the look of things.

"Are my rations not good enough for you? I mean, I feed you just enough to keep you alive. You are my hunting dog after all. Good to see that you have lost half of your weight. It will mean that you will be more efficient at catching those little blue monsters. Won't you? ANSWER ME!"

Big Mouth squeaked a reply. He knew that to argue with the evil wizard would mean more pain than he could endure. How could he have ended up like this? Being used as a tool by this madman, in his insatiable quest to kill innocent blue people who did all they could to help others in the forest. Big Mouth had tried to fight, but Gargamel had become all powerful.

All because on one Smurfmas Eve many years ago, Gargamel had decided to capture Smurfette and turn her into a wax candle for his amusement.

Of course Papa Smurf and a few of his close friends went to her rescue, but they all perished. With the gold he produced from their bodies, he was able to buy powerful spell books and even pay for extra tutoring in the dark arts from other wizards and witches who were more evil than he.

Big Mouth had then become Gargamel's slave. Simple mind control meant that the wizard could send the Ogre to the Smurf village and capture handfuls of the creatures.

The wizard's cat Azrael had died in a fight with a fox not long after that fateful day.

For some reason Gargamel could not bring himself to replace it. Either because he had loved the cat very much or because he had no further use for a pet who could potentially cause him endless problems.

Ever since the death of Smurfette, Papa Smurf, Brainy and Hefty, the village had been leaderless. They had broken up into different factions and many Smurfs had been killed in a 'civil war'. Only the weak and stupid Smurfs stayed in the village waiting for Big Mouth to capture them.

The Smurflings had run off into the woods with baby Smurf, scared of what would happen to them and no-one was more scared than Sassette as now she was the only female Smurf and everyone wanted a piece of her. She had to escape to save her life. They also recognised that the next leader of the Smurfs would be Baby and they all vowed to protect him with their lives. He had to live. He was the only one who would be able to become strong enough to defeat any humans who threatened them in the future. The only thing that was on their side was their long lifespan. As long as they kept hidden for at least a hundred years then all their enemies would die of old age. But they never celebrated Smurfmas again. It had been a long thirty years since the collapse of their society.

Gargamel had turned his hovel into a proper castle to rival even his Uncle's. Lady luck had smiled upon the hunched elderly wizard once more when Balthazar died in mysterious circumstances and Gargamel inherited all of his wealth and power. Others in the kingdom had became suspicious and tried to rid themselves of this usurper but he had just become too powerful and many perished. Even the kingdom itself began to suffer. The king did all he could to keep order, but in truth he was powerless against the wizard. Johan and Peewit had not been seen for many years. Many thought that they had run away, unable to stand and watch the kingdom turn to dust.

Others thought that they were gathering an army of mercenaries. This belief gave some hope for the future.

The great and powerful wizard (as he liked to call himself) did not need to make gold, but he still captured Smurfs as he wanted them to become extinct Even Homnibus was not around anymore, the other wizards were cowards. The whole kingdom was at his mercy.

But even though he was all powerful, he knew that he did not have much time left and that the reaper would come for him one day. He secretly envied the Smurfs being able to live for hundreds of years, so he decided to explore ways to prolong his life. After many weeks of pouring over spell books and collecting special rare herbs a potion was prepared, but he needed a test subject.

Big Mouth had no choice in the matter as Gargamel made him drink a foul potion to make him immortal for two hundred years. The Ogre was then locked up to see how he would react to the potion. He spent an agonising week feeling as if he was going to die. Every nerve in his body was on fire and he begged Gargamel to put him out of his misery. The wizard merely took notes and watched him with heartless eyes.

On the seventh day, Big Mouth felt much better and the human let him out of his prison. He had some food at the banquet table with Gargamel who toasted their success. He had prepared a warm chamber with a comfy bed for the Ogre to retire to that night. But little did Big Mouth know that the potion still had one more test to pass.

Later that night, they arrived at the door of the chamber together, but it was dark inside, the Ogre began to ask where the torch was, but he felt himself being pushed violently from behind. There was no bed or furniture in the chamber, not even a floor! Just a straight drop onto the rocks below from four hundred feet up.

The darkness encroached once again on the present day Gargamel and the ghost of Smurfmas future.

"Ha,ha! At last I become rich beyond my dreams and no-one can stop me. The Smurfs are destroyed and not even the King can defeat me! Wait! That means that I HAVE to turn Papa Smurf and the others into Gold. I'll remember that when I wake up. I won't let them leave!"

A big skeletal hand slapped Gargamel to the ground.

"Aren't you **rasp** forgetting something?" Snarled Big Mouth the ghost of Smurfmas future.

"After you pushed me **rasp** down that shaft you found me lying**rasp** on the rocks. Half of my head **rasp** had been sheared right off. But I was still alive. You **rasp**saw me all broken and you cheered. Are you **rasp** not sickened by what you will become? How little **rasp** the idea of love and compassion **rasp**will mean to you? How you will be despised by **rasp** everyone and the Smurfs won't be around to save you?"

"SAVE ME? The SMURFS? Don't make me sick! I owe them nothing! You've shown me the future and I like it!"

The black clad figure in front of the wizard then seemed to become elongated, it started to wrap itself around Gargamel like a constrictor snake. He was powerless and the destroyed face of Big Mouth came within inches of the human's nose and sneered.

"Oh, but wait **rasp** you haven't seen **rasp** the best bit yet!"

"You don't scare me! This is a dream. You can't kill me in a dream!"

"Are you really **rasp** sure Gargamel? Are you really not **rasp** afraid of dying alone, unloved **rasp** and wiped from history?"

And with this, the Ogre squeezed the breath out of the evil wizard. The shocked human could feel his ribs cracking and he felt pure panic as he realised, too late that he could not inhale. The burning in his lungs was becoming unbearable and his vision started to cloud over. Then there was nothing but inner darkness.

Now that his tormentor was at the very edge of death, Big Mouth relaxed his coils and colour returned to the puffy face of his enemy, but he was still unconscious, his eyes half open with only the whites showing. The Ogre was still hurting from the fact that not once did the wizard apologise for what he had done.

There was only one thing left that he could try. A 'mind meld'. Mere words would not be enough to convey the horror of what would become the future, if this wizard did not change his ways. He would have to feel with every fibre of his rotten soul, the pain and misery that he would inflict on the Smurfs. He had to experience it all to truly understand.

The wizard was laid out on the floor and the ogre kneeled by the human's head. He then placed two skeletal hands flat on either side of Gargamel's head near his temples. The Ogre closed his eye and the wizard began to convulse.

_Back in the real world:_

Brainy was the first to notice the fact that the bed they were on was shaking violently. Papa Smurf and Hefty got thrown off onto the floor. Brainy clung onto the bed sheets. He could see that Gargamel was the cause of all the commotion and was horrified to see the human frothing at the mouth.

"Papa, HELP! Something is very wrong with the human!"

The Smurf leader jumped back on the bed and ran along Gargamel's body right up to his face. There was nothing he could do. Their hopes were being dashed right in front of them. The only person who could save Smurfette was dying.

Papa Smurf got off the bed and told the others to do the same. They followed him to the dressing table and together they lifted the waxen Smurfette and lowered her down to the floor using a piece of string. It was all over. They were going back to the village. They had lost the love of their life, their beautiful, clever, funny Smurfette. The village would never be the same again. Smurfmas would never be celebrated by any Smurf ever again.

Papa vowed to come back the next day and burn down the hovel. He could hear Azrael crying and clawing at the trapdoor in the floor. The cat would have to die in the inferno as well. He felt no mercy.

They would have a new thing to celebrate. The end of their enemies and Papa could feel his heart being broken and filled with a dark hatred of humans. Any that crossed the path of the Smurfs would be fair game. They were not going to be nice guys anymore.

**To be continued... **


	5. Chapter 5

**'A Smurfmas Carol'**

**Chapter 5**

_Back in Gargamel's 'Nightmare';_

Groaning and rubbing his sides, Gargamel sat up and found himself in a meadow full of wild flowers and tall grasses. The sun hung in a clear blue sky and felt very pleasant. He could hear birdsong from the trees at the edge of the wood, only a few yards from where he was.

"Bah! Can't stand meadows. Brings me out in a rash!" and he started to itch as allergic hives started to erupt on the exposed skin of his hands and arms. He got up and started to walk towards the woods. He preferred the gloom of the shady trees. Bright sunshine also gave him a headache. This is why he liked winter and wet weather. They kept allergens at bay.

His last memory was that of the Ogre trying to squeeze him to death. Well the ugly buffoon had failed. He was very much alive and he took a deep breath to prove it to himself. It made him cough. Now he just wanted to get home. He even started to think about his cat. How long had he been in this dream? And what were the Smurfs doing?

He ventured deeper into the woods and found a familiar path. He soon came to a clearing near a stream, feeling thirsty, he bent down to scoop up some water with his hand. As he drank he noticed something blue floating in the stream.

It was a Smurf!

He leaned forward and pulled it out of the water. It was all bloated and seemed to have been immersed for several days. He gave a shudder and threw it back into the stream. In truth he had not seen a dead Smurf before and they seemed even more repulsive when dead. He went to walk away, when he noticed that further upstream, the flow of water was being held up by a blockage of some sort.

He put his hands to his face in horror when he saw what it was.

Not far from Gargamel, Wild Smurf, Sassette, Baby Smurf and Nat Smurf were hiding in the bushes. They had seen the wizard and were very puzzled by what they were seeing. To them, he looked as he did thirty years previously. Still wearing the black cassock with red leggings and boots. The dark unruly hair around his ears and back of his head. Was he some kind of time traveller? Did he not know of the damage his future self was doing to the kingdom?

Wild Smurf and Nat had picked up their weapons and were sharpening them. This was their chance for revenge. Baby Smurf looked at Sassette and babbled to her. She was the only one who could understand his special language and her eyes lit up with joy.

"Wild, Nat! Don't do anything. Don't you see? Pappy Gargamel over there is from the past. Baby says that somehow he has been sent to us from Papa Smurf"

Wild and Nat were used to Sassette saying silly things, but this was just ridiculous.

"I think that Papa Smurf has sent him here for us to smurf him! We will save what's left of our people from his tyranny!" said Nat.

Wild Smurf jumped up and down waving his spear. He so wanted to plant it into the human!

For a few seconds Gargamel had to keep looking at the blockage in the stream. He had one hand covering his mouth.

It was a blue mass of Smurfs, all bloated as if they had been there for weeks or even months. But why had none of the others buried them? Why leave them out in the open. And more to the point, why had no wild creatures eaten them?

But then he thought, that Smurfs must truly taste terrible if even a fox did not want to eat the corpses. The fact they had not rotted away, did not even occur to him. He picked up a stick from the ground and squatted down so that he could poke them.

He then felt a sharp sting on his backside, he jumped back up.

"Ouch! That hurts!" he shrieked

He turned around and saw four Smurfs looking at him. One was wearing a very tatty yellow T-shirt, another was dressed in leaves, one he recognised as Baby Smurf and of all the Smurfs to survive, Sassette was there as plain as day. He pulled the offending item out and it saw that it was a six inch long pointed stick.

"Oh Pappy Gargamel it is you! I'm so happy to see you!"

Gargamel wanted to stamp on the little blue monsters but he could see that they were only young Smurfs and they looked as if they had been through a lot. He swallowed down his anger and tried to steady his voice.

"Well, that's kind of you little...err Smurfling, but I think your friends are not as happy as you"

He could see the hatred in the little blue faces and the leaf clad Smurf seemed to want to cause him even more pain.

"You must help us Pappy Gargamel, our whole village is destroyed, we are the last Smurfs alive in the whole kingdom. All the animals have fled and the people of the villages too. And in a way it's your fault.." she tapered off.

Gargamel sat back down on the ground and Sassette walked up to him. He put his hand out to her and she climbed aboard. As soon as she set foot on his skin, Gargamel felt a strange sensation deep in his heart. It couldn't be. Was it pity? He was feeling pity for this tiny blue creature. She looked at him with eyes full of love. How could she love him? He was not even a Smurf. He was their sworn enemy.

Even now, after all that he ends up doing to them and the kingdom, she still feels love.

He did not deserve it, but here she was giving it to him freely. His heart was aching even more now. Was he feeling empathy? This was a new feeling for the misanthrope and it hurt. He wanted it to stop but he also felt that he had to help them but how? Then an answer popped in his head. As if it had been there all along and the veil had been pulled away.

"Where is my future self right now? " asked Gargamel

"He's in the castle." replied Nat

"That must mean the hovel. As there is no way I would live in Balthazar's castle. Too many bad memories,"

Gargamel put Sassette on his shoulder. He put his hand out for the others, but only Baby Smurf accepted a lift. He then set off through the forest to his home with Sassette and Baby Smurf on his right shoulder. He was going to face his future self and tell him exactly what he thought of him..self!

_Back at the Smurf village in the real world;_

Papa Smurf and the others walked into the village square solemnly with Smurfette held aloft on their shoulders. The whole village was shocked to see her and many started to cry. They set her down in Papa's lab whilst Smurfs crowded at the door and windows.

The village leader took a deep breath and went to the door of his house.

"My fellow Smurfs. Today is a very sad day. Our Smurfette has been taken from us. Gargamel turned her into a candle and only he has the secret to release her,"

Several Smurfs then started to shout out

"Let's make him! Come lets form an army and force him to turn her back!"

Papa put his hands up to try and calm the crowd, he then looked at Brainy and Hefty and sighed.

"I've already tried to do that. I was too confident, maybe a bit foolish, but we won't be able to get Gargamel to help us,"

The crowd of Smurfs murmured amongst themselves and Harmony Smurf asked the obvious question.

"Papa, why won't he help?"

"Because I murdered him" replied Papa

A gasp rose from the crowd.

_Back in Gargamel's Nightmare;_

As they walked to his future home, Gargamel's mind was racing with questions. Should he try to reason with himself? Would he even listen to himself? He knew one thing for sure. His future self had to perish for the good of the kingdom.

He saw several abandoned homes on the way, most of the forest was destroyed the closer he got to the hovel. The river where he spent many pleasant afternoons fishing, under the shade of a tree was unrecognisable. It's water was putrid and dead fish floated along it's length. This had to stop!

They arrived at the castle where the hovel once stood. Gargamel looked at it and thought it was in bad taste. It was six times bigger than the his original home, the walls were made of white limestone with turrets on each corner. The conical roof was made of the finest clay tiles and there were many gothic windows with coloured glass panes.

The front door was huge and made of the finest oak.

A large dragon door knocker was in the centre of the door. The wizard grabbed hold of it and knocked three times.

Sassette and the others had hidden themselves by the side of the wall and were looking up at Gargamel in awe. He was being so brave facing his future self like this. They were rooting for him with all their being.

Gargamel was shaking inside, as right now, he hated no-one more than himself at this moment in time.

The door opened with a creak and the wizard came face to face with Big Mouth. They looked at each other and the latter smiled.

"I've been **rasp** expecting you Gargamel," said the Ogre. And he passed a large dagger to the human. Gargamel took hold of it and hid it in his sleeve. They nodded to each other.

A wheezing voice called him into the inner chamber of the castle, Gargamel walked in and saw his 'Great and Powerful' self sitting on a golden throne, studded with diamonds and Smurf skulls?

"My word, what a state I used to be in! Look at you, weak and pathetic, dressed in old ragged robes and thin leather shoes. Are you not pleased by what you see in front of you? Look! you finally have all that you wanted and it's wonderful is it not?" sneered the future Gargamel.

The younger Gargamel looked around the room and for some reason nothing in it pleased him. It was all tacky, over the top and in extremely bad taste. He looked at the throne and the little Smurf skulls seemed to be talking to him. Talking to his heart, they were in his soul and he was at one with them. He knew what he must do for the sake of them all. He spoke up.

"Gargamel, you have become corrupted by your greed. It was never about having so much wealth. All I wanted was recognition by my peers. The only way I thought I could get it was with gold, or so I thought. True, I was not good at magic, but I was also too stubborn to learn from others. I should have let Homnibus help me, but my pride got in the way.

I ruined everything. I ruined a whole race of little people and now they are almost extinct just because of my own selfish needs. I could have been a better person.

I could plead with you to stop, but it's all gone too far to turn back the time. There is only one thing that I have the power to do."

The seated Gargamel did not like where this was leading and threw up a force field around his throne.

"What do you think you can do to stop me? This force field is impenetrable and my Ogre will stop you from attacking!"

Big Mouth stepped forward and spoke.

"Master,**rasp** your days are numbered and you **rasp** know it. You never took**rasp** the potion I ingested. Too cowardly to **rasp** live forever,"

The seated Gargamel stood up and took hold of his staff. He was going to teach his 'Dog' a lesson he would not forget.

Whilst this was going on, younger Gagamel had taken the dagger out of his sleeve and was looking at it with an air of detachment. He held it in his right hand with the blade turned inwards and placed his left hand over his right.

The tip of the blade rested in the middle of his chest.

Big Mouth turned and for a moment both the Ogre and younger human knew that they had forgiven each other. Big Mouth then put his arms around the wizard's tatty black cassock and gave him a bear hug. All the time looking into those dark eyes as they turned glassy.

Gargamel fell to the future dissolved around his bleeding body, lying like a rag doll on the floor of a golden castle.

_Back in the real world;_

Gargamel fell flat on his face on the flagstone floor of his hovel. He had fallen out of bed and now had a bleeding nose. For a moment he felt very dazed and had no idea where he was, but the pain in his nose made everything seem real, more so than in the dream world. As he picked himself up, he saw that he was indeed back in his real home.

He went to his dressing table and got a piece of rag from one of the drawers and started to mop at his injury using the water from the pitcher. Once he was satisfied that the bleeding had stopped he went into the main part of the hovel, he wanted to see if the Smurfs were still there.

The Christmas tree stood in the corner but the Smurf cage was empty. It was not a surprise to him. But looking back at the tree, he could see that Smurfette was no longer at the top.

How long had he been out? Unless it was the next day, it could have only been an hour or so. Whatever Papa Smurf had done to him, he was actually grateful for it.

He then remembered Azrael and he ran to the trapdoor and pulled back the bolt with shaking hands. For some reason he was in a desperate need of a hug. One that would not hurt as much.

The ginger feline was fast asleep on a pile of sack cloths. The wizard climbed down the steps and approached his one and only true friend.

"I've missed you so much Azrael, promise me you'll never leave me," he murmured.

His cat was still half asleep so did not struggle when he was picked up by his master. With his friend in his arms, Gargamel climbed back up the steps to the kitchen, he sat in his favourite rocking chair and Azrael settled himself on Gargamel's lap, purring loudly. It felt good to both of them, to be loved.

Midnight came and it was Smurfmas.

_In the Smurf village;_

Hefty Smurf had gathered together some torches whilst Papa got some volunteers for their march to the hovel. Hefty did not want to leave Smurfette in Papa's laboratory. He knew that she could still see and hear even though she was made of wax, Papa had said he was not sure but in his heart Hefty knew it, he wanted her to see what they did to Gargamel. Even though she might have seen enough already.

A crowd of twenty Smurfs set off for the hovel, they carried burning torches that lit up the darkness. They had one mission. Burn down the hovel and everyone inside!

_At Gargamel's;_

The wizard was the first to wake, he and his cat had fallen asleep due to their combined body heat making them feel drowsy. Azrael yawned and stretched. He jumped off Gargamel as he rose.

His cassock was covered in cat hair and the human brushed at it with irritation.

"Now I remember why I don't let you sit on my lap that often. Why can't you be a black cat, less messy!"

He started to make put a pot on the fire to make some tea when he heard a noise at the window. There in the gloom stood row upon row of Smurfs all staring at him as if he was a ghost.

"Come on in my friends, warm yourselves by the fire and I'll make us all some tea, but you'll have to share a cup" said the human cheerily.

Papa Smurf was the first to jump down onto the hovel floor, next came Hefty and he waited whilst other Smurfs lowered the waxen Smurfette down on strings. Hefty tied her to his back and followed Papa.

"I'm quite surprised that you are alive Gargamel. I thought that you had not pulled through," said Papa, rubbing the back of his head and looking sheepish.

"And I suppose your little Smurf party was coming to give me a send off?"

"Ermm, yes. We were going to burn down the hovel" answered Papa, playing nervously with his beard.

"And you say that I have a short temper? I really am disappointed in you Papa. I thought you were my moral superior. It seems you and I are very much alike," grinned Gargamel.

The human got up and went to his book shelves. But instead of taking a book down he taped the wall just above and a secret door opened in the stone work. He carefully took out a small parchment and a glass bottle filled with a blue liquid.

"Strange as it may seem Papa, I'm very grateful for what you have shown me by using that potion on me. I've seen the future and it seems that getting what you want is not always guaranteed to make you happy. Especially if others have to suffer for might be a turning point for me, but I hope that you can help me, when I need it. I see that you have Smurfette. Please bring her to me,"

Hefty glared at Gargamel but Papa nodded to his fellow Smurf. Smurfette was untied from the strong Smurf's back and Gargamel placed her on the table. He put a shallow tin bowl on the table and poured the contents of the bottle into it. He then placed her into the bowl until she was submerged. Taking hold of the parchment he whispered some words over the golden haired Smurfette.

Papa wanted to know what the spell was, but he could not make it out.

There was a flash of blue light and smoke. Once it had cleared, the tin bowl contained a very surprised looking Smurfette. Restored to normal and smiling at her Smurfy family.

A huge cheer went up from all the watching Smurfs and they all ran towards her. She was in the middle of the melee kissing Hefty.

Papa turned to the human and said

"I'm glad you learned your lesson Gargamel, now I hope there will be peace between us, at least for the Smurfmas season."

"You can be sure of that Papa. I might not be able to have Christmas with my mummy but at least I have Azrael to keep me company," Azrael purred as a reply.

Then they all shared some tea together before the Smurfs left at dawn, to continue with their Smurfmas celebrations.

The wizard and the cat had each other and for now that was enough.

They had all learned something from each other that night.

Love conquers all!

And that Smurfmas night was to be remembered forever as the best Smurfmas ever!

**The End**


End file.
